Chapter 153: The Invitations
"Sealing their memories and making them believe that story... not bad," he added.
Peg and his group had no idea what had actually happened.
Their memories had been tampered with in such a way that even if they tried to recall the events, they would only remember the version where it was all just a prank they had arranged themselves.
Freya didn’t reply further, she still didn’t like her master it seemed.
Neil just shook his head, it wasn’t bad to have her as his slave.
Turning around, he began moving back towards his domain.
"Nemo," he called out in a pondering tone, "what about the important messages?"
She had mentioned something earlier but because of peg the conversation was cut off, at least now Shen was taken care of.
"There are two important ones, master," Nemo replied instantly.
"Hmm, go on."
"The first one is from Warden Mantis. He has invited you to an event that will be held three days later," she said.
Neil’s eyes narrowed slightly as he continued moving forward.
"Event?" he asked.
"Yes, master. It seems to be a gathering where all friendly races are invited, and young talents are also expected to participate," Nemo explained.
Neil didn’t interrupt, letting her continue.
"They are supposed to demonstrate their abilities, its gives all of them the idea of each others strength and shows their capabilities. But later on, a larger competition will be organized. It appears to be something like a world lord competition for the newer and older generations," she added.
"...I see."
That explained why multiple wardens had been so interested in him earlier, him being there will definitely be a big plus.
As for the world lord competition which will be held later on, Neil could worry about that later.
He still needed to figure out many things, he needed to find the people responsible for that kidnapping.
And to see why his parent’s company was involved in it.
’...’ he wondered if he should go to this even three days later, but there doesn’t seem to be any benefit in doing so.
"Go on, what about the second one?" he asked.
"The second invitation is from ECO," Nemo said.
Neil paused slightly, slightly surprised and wondered if it was related to the fight with Shen or because of carceral citadel.
"ECO?" he repeated.
"And what do they want?" Neil asked calmly, though he was far from taking ECO head on.
"Yes, master. They are holding a recruitment a month later, for the position of some officers," Nemo answered.
Neil fell silent for a moment as he processed the information.
"...Recruitment, huh."
That was interesting, but also something that required careful consideration.
For now, he didn’t make any decision.
...
While continuing the conversation with Nemo, Neil had already covered a considerable distance as his figure moved swiftly across the open terrain, the wind brushing past him as the vast grassland stretched endlessly in all directions, creating a calm and almost peaceful contrast to the chaos he had just left behind.
From afar, his domain soon came into view, standing firmly in the middle of the open land like a small independent world.
Its wooden structures appearing even more distinct because the sinking sun, while the surrounding greenery made the entire place feel far more alive than the frozen and lifeless environment of the Carceral Citadel they had escaped from not too long ago.
As he approached closer, several figures stationed around the domain quickly noticed his presence and straightened their postures instinctively, their gazes filled with respect as they greeted him one after another, their voices were full of enthusiasm, most of these were the elven soldiers.
The best candidates to be guards. As giants and siege golem attracted too much attention.
Neil simply nodded in response without stopping, his attention already shifting towards a familiar figure standing not too far away in the open field.
Ileana stood there with her hands slightly raised, a faint glow surrounding her palms as large plants rapidly grew from the ground under her control, thick vines twisting and intertwining with one another as they expanded outward, forming dense structures that could easily serve both offensive and defensive purposes, while the ground itself seemed to respond to her presence as if it was alive.
Her control over her abilities had clearly improved.
The growth of the plants was not chaotic or unstable, but rather smooth and controlled, each movement appeared as if she had practiced it thousands of times.
Almost as if she was shaping them according to her will rather than simply forcing them to grow, maybe it was because of her previous life’s memories.
As soon as she noticed Neil approaching, the glow around her hands faded gradually and the plants stopped growing, remaining in place as she turned towards him with a bright expression.
"Hubby!" she called out as she hurried towards him, her voice carrying a mix of relief and happiness.
Neil slowed down slightly and reached out, pulling her closer before placing a gentle kiss over her lips, his expression softening just a little compared to his usual calm demeanor.
"I am back," he said in a relaxed tone.
"Mmm, welcome back, hubby." Ileana replied with a small smile, though her eyes briefly moved over his body as if checking for any injuries, her expression turning slightly serious before relaxing again.
"How did it go?" she asked, inhaling his scent and finally feeling fully charged.
The two of them began to walk slowly across the grass, their pace unhurried as Neil briefly mentioned the events that had taken place.
Not going into unnecessary detail but still covering the important parts, including the explosion of Shen and the expressions of Ziggy and others.
Ileana listened quietly, she smiled and chuckled at his words, her hubby had done it all so perfectly.
Though she did not interrupt him, simply nodding occasionally but enjoying the flashback as if she had teleported there herself.
"These humans really are troublesome," she said softly, though there was a clear trace of displeasure in her tone.
Neil did not respond to that directly, as he already had his own thoughts regarding humans and their nature, and there was no need to dwell on something that had already been decided in his mind.
Instead, his gaze moved forward as he spoke about his next objective.
"I will soon start hunting for the three 2nd Order diamond class domains," he said calmly, though he still needed to make proper plans about that.
Yet there was no hurry.
Ileana’s nodded, her strength will also grow along with the domain and she can be of more help to him.
"when will you be starting?" she asked, holding his hand gently and leaning her head over his shoulder.
"Very soon, once I have selected the domains. With my strength, it will be too easy." Neil replied feeling her warmth against his arm, the side of her breast pressing against him.
In any case, he needed to increase his strength quickly.
There were too many variables, too many potential threats, and too many unknowns for him to take things lightly.
Waiting passively would only give others more time to grow stronger.
Without saying anything further, he sat down on the soft grass and pulled Ileana down beside him,.
They chatted for a while, then Ileana returned to the domain.
"For now, I should focus on the new essence transformation manual," he mumbled to himself.
Neil’s posture relaxed slightly as he closed his eyes.
The Phantom’s Essence Transformation method surfaced in his mind once again, its complex structure appearing clearly as he began to circulate the technique.
The moment he started, the essence within his body began to move.
Not slowly, not gently, but rapidly and violently.
Countless tiny whirlpools formed throughout his body, each one spinning at an incredible speed as the energy within them surged forward, creating a continuous flow that spread through every part of his being.
Energy from the surrounding was crazily being pulled into his body.
Countless black lines appeared all over his body, as fog began to rise.
He was releasing such a pressure that would make most people faint.
At the same time, without any conscious effort from his side, the Entropic Essence Transformation method activated automatically.
The left side of his body began to turn extremely cold, the temperature dropping rapidly as a faint layer of frost started to form over the grass beneath him, while the right side became burning hot, the air around it slightly distorting as heat waves spread outward.
The contrast was extreme.
Cold and heat, two completely opposing forces, coexisting within the same body.
Yet instead of clashing with each other and creating instability, the two energies began to complement each other perfectly, as if they were meant to function together from the very beginning.
Merging completely with the black energy, making the red and white of the two slightly darker.
The whirlpools grew faster.
The flow of essence increased drastically, Neil gritted his teeth as he persevered.
The overall speed of the transformation rose to a level that even Neil had not expected.
His eyes opened slightly.
’...This fast?’ He could clearly feel it.
The process that was originally supposed to take a long time had accelerated several times over.
The Phantom method was not interfering with the Entropic method.
Instead, it was enhancing it.
’At this rate... four months, maybe even less,’ he thought.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he closed his eyes again, focusing completely on the process.
This time, he went completely all out as the weather around him began to change strangely, blood pumping wildly through his veins.
As Freya observed it wordlessly, she definitely wasn’t impressed.
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Thanks for reading...